Dexter, who was born in St Kitts, rose to fame on the flagship '90s comedy series, going on to appear in TV shows including The Fast Show, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge and Absolutely Fabulous.

A former Time Out 'Comedian of the Year' winner, Dexter was also an established stage actor, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company for a season and starring alongside Alex Kingston and Christian Slater in a 2006 production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

He had recently appeared in Citizen Khan as Omar, a friend of star Adil Ray's community leader Mr Khan.

Dexter moved to the UK from the West Indies with his family at the age of seven. After studying law, he abandoned training to be a barrister to pursue his career in comedy.

Comedians Bill Bailey, Dara O'Briain, David Baddiel, Matt Lucas, David Schneider, Jenny Eclair and John Thomson were among those paying tribute to the Londoner on Twitter.

The Walking Dead actor David Morrissey said of Dexter: "So sad to hear the news about Felix Dexter. I worked with him a while ago. Such a funny, talented and generous man. RIP", while The Thick of It actress Rebecca Front described him as "a funny, charming man".